The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts Getting Gear oil out of brake shoes

One of the axle seals on my '54 1-1/2 ton blew out resulting in a saturation of gear oil on my passenger rear brake shoes. How do I get this oil out of them? I was told that steaming them does the trick haven't tried that yet. Are there any other tricks out there to curing this problem?

Get them relined. There isnt much you can do to get oil out and youll always have issues when the brakes are applied and they heat up. Brakes and steering are two things you dont want to screw around with.

Jeff

I've tried solvents, steam cleaning, sanding, and even soaking in heavy-duty detergents and boiling water followed by heating with a torch- - - - - -no luck! Once the oil penetrates the lining material, there's no getting it out. Even if the linings look clean, the first time the brake gets a little hot, the oil will come to the surface again. It causes squealing and grabbing. Reline, or replace the brake shoes.
Jerry

I concur with Jeff and Jerry there is little you can do find a brake supply house near you and have your shoes relined. You may want to find an extra set of shoes for your truck too then have them relined as well and put them on a shelf in your shop.
If you do that then you will always have new ones on hand all you have to do is rotate your stock. You may wish to get some good hardware as well clean it up, put it in labeled Ziploc bags and store them with your shoes.
You can take your whole backing plate with the shoes and hardware installed too the brake supplier and see what you can still get new I would consider keeping a small wear parts stock on hand our trucks aren’t getting any younger, and what you can get today may not be there tomorrow you know!!! Remember to ask how many they have and how many they sell if they haven't sold any for some time they may purge their stock even if they have them on hand now they may be gone tomorrow.

You are asking for trouble if you use them as they are. In the past if I work on the brakes and I got grease/oil on them. I could use brake clean as it was only on the surface.

But, where they are soaked. relign them.

Good luck...

I'd reline them if I had my truck on the road but around the property I just put them in the oven when the wife wasn't home and put the oven on self clean. Came out pretty nice.

Are you still married?

That's right up there with putting 4 wire wheel covers in the dishwasher when she's not looking...

I agree with all the above, although I haven't tried the oven cleaning idea.

Harvester

My dishwasher and oven are full of parts all the time maybe that is why I am single LOL
Never put brake shoes in the oven usually bearings and the shaft the bearing goes on in the freezer or some times a bearing race in the freezer and whatever part it goes in in the oven sure makes press fit stuff go together easy if you don't get beat with a broom LOL

i have set fire to shoes before with a solvent it draws out the oil or run the oxy act over them that draws it out to but that was years ago and the world we live in now i would fit new linings

I have used an oven at 550 for an extended time after soaking a set of brakes in lacquer thinner overnight. It did work, however was a pain in the butt, plus Margaret wasnt happy with the smell that was setting off the smoke alarms. I myself would re-line them or get new shoes.

Must be why the wife asks why the cake smells like oil?
I just say it tastes good--put some more icecream & chocolate on there thatle make the tast go away, Must be the oven got to hot.

Little grease & oil dont hurt nothin just makes it slide down better.